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September 30, 2004

The Debate

I'm psuedo-watching the Debate between Bush and Kerry. Rather, I'm listening to it, half-mindedly. I'm not registered, and never voted. It may disturb many people, but I care little for politics and haven't any desire to vote. I'm sure that if some day something important arises, I will ... but until that day ...

That wasn't the point of this though. I was mentally bird-walking prior to this. I commented to Brian that I wondered if Bush was dyslexic. Why? Idle thoughts, really. I said that Kerry was a better speaker, and I mean in the literal scene. He doesn't stumble on his words. He's smooth. Bush pauses, stumbles ... things that I do, when nervous/excited.

I get bothered sometimes when I talk to Mike about my dyslexia. I've never been diagnosed with it, and thus ... well, to a degree its a 'figment of my imagination'. ::Frowns.:: I think he finds it difficult because I devour books. But my dyslexia occurs in two places (one of which he's actually heard before, but I don't think he's really noticed).

The first form, I noticed in ... hmm, I believe it was in eighth grade, math class. I realized that I had been reading aloud numbers from problems and I was saying them backward. Like, it the number was "875" I would say "857". I typically got the first number right, but from there they would scramble. Mind you, I was actually whispering the numbers to myself--which is how I noticed it. The peculiar thing is, I was saying them wrong, but writing them correctly. This utterly annoyed me, so I forced myself to stop whispering the numbers ... and found myself inverting them as they were written now. To this day, I still have to be careful when working with numbers. At work, it becomes somewhat of a bitch when having to type in BINCs (like doing PICing; oi).

The second plagued me with more problems in school than my inverting of numbers. I cannot read aloud. Well, I can, but when I do, I end up coming off like someone who cannot read at all; because I will invert, outright skip, or stumble upon words. When we were driving from Cali to NJ, Mike bought a magazine and decided he wanted me to read aloud articles from it. Oi. It was terrible.

The odd thing that I remembered though, while I was talking to Brian, was that for a short period of time, I stuttered. It was about five years ago, maybe a few less. I was very stressed out, and in a horrible spot in my life. And I started stuttering. Not terribly, but enough that it upset me greatly.

Anyway, I'm utterly distracted at the moment now... so I'll just leave it at that.

Posted by Coyote at 9:13 PM

September 29, 2004

200 Things

I love lists. I found this one ... Eek! I forget. LOL! Bolded ones are ones that apply and for a number of them I've added in thoughts. The list is broken by 10 to ease the eyes; LOL.

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins (Me, swim? HA! Though this would be cool!)
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid (I would love to do this, and it would have to be with Mom, as she's dreamed of going to Egypt to see the pyramids for years)
06. Held a tarantula: I used to own tarantulas, so yes.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it: Most definitely
09. Hugged a tree: What can I say? Trees are cool
10. Done a striptease

11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game: Been to one baseball game, and one hockey game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables: We used to grow squash. Mmmmmm.
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars

21. Changed a baby’s diaper: My eldest nephew's
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower: In 2001, I believe. My friend Ryan and I went out to the mountains, trying to find a good location. We finally pulled onto the side of the road and just laid upon the hood of my Mustang; and we had at least one of vehicle stop and join us.
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope: Dad bought a telescope a few years ago, and would bring it out periodically; as did Mike last year.
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill: I had gotten bit by some bug that visibly reacted bad, but didn't make me sick. So Mom said to take the day off, and go have fun with Mike (was during his first or second trip to Cali).

31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight: Okay, so it only lasted like a minute, but it was fun!
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can: I know I have done this, I simply cannot remember the when/where.
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse: Again, cannot remember then when/where. I think it was during middle school, and we had pieces of color negatives to protect our eyes.

41. Ridden a roller coaster: Hell yeah! I love Six Flags!
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking: Yep!
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment: I'm sure this has happened.... LOL
48. Had two hard drives for your computer: For a good five years, I would say.
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts

51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced: Not on alcohol, but yes all the same.
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign: I used to have a Detour sign in my bedroom!
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice

61. Midnight walk on the beach: Samo Beach, Saturday nights after RHPS. Woohoo!
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love: Considering I wasn't even aware I was in love, until I recognized the ache of being heartbroken ... and it lasted like a year, yeah.
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight (Damnit, I used to be able to legpress that much!)
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records: Not only would they be alpha'd, but I would open each case and make sure the CD was properly aligned!
70. Pretended to be a superhero

71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day: I spent many lovely summers this way.
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain: Of course!
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain: I love the rain, completely.
79. Gone to a drive-in theater: Yes! I wish more still remained.
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it

81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better (Kind of. I purposely bought a Mac laptop, and have been considering moving onto Linux for some time)
84. Started a business (Been highly considering it)
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight: I'm pretty sure there was at least one day we went that long; if not ... there have been times when enough was going on, that we've RPed for 12 hours online.
90. Gotten married (Almost.)

91. Been in a movie (How about filmed for German TV? ::Grin!::)
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have: Almost everyone I have loved; LOL!
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch: My favorite kind
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice

101. Gotten a tattoo: I have 4--or 5, depending upon how you look at it.
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on (Does skin count as a material? LOL)
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything: Just once
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug (Thankfully, I don't have an addictive personality, which is amazing, considering my father)
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas: First time was when my parents remarried (when I was 9 or 10). Then I went the year after high school, with a group of older people; the four of us in a room that had been reserved for two, gabbled and drank. I was 18.

111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand: A couple
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship

121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check: Sadly.
124. Performed in Rocky Horror (Almost; I nearly tried out for Columbia)
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over: Not of my own choice. Mom did this to us.
134. …more than once? - More than thrice?: It happened twice; and both times we returned to LA shortly thereafter.
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking: I love singing in the car.
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication

141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback: I had a boyfriend who had flashbacks quite often
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone’s heart
146. Helped an animal give birth: My poor kitten was having kittens. She was barely nine months old herself, and wild as can be. We woke up one night to her crying loudly, and I had to help her into a box where she would be safer (she had been laying in the middle of the floor), and watched her to make sure everything was okay.
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being

151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle: My Dad's had motorcycles since I was like 8. My ex had one. Mike's dad has one, and I went for a ride around the block recently with him. ::Chuckles.:: That was fun, and later on he was like, "Youu ride well. I'll take you for a ride anytime." Mike's mom had been freaking out, because he took off before I even had my helmet fastened--which meant -gasp!- I wasn't holding on. Nor was I holding on when we returned.
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced: Had my left nipple pierced for a good length of time, but it wouldn't heal.
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol: I went shooting a few times with one of my good friends. I loved it completely.
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse: Just once, which was more than enough for me.
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet: I've had ... Mephistopheles (ball python), Dante (burmese python), Tremere (red tail boa) ... a breeding of pair RT boas, another RT boa, a Rock python, two corn snakes, a King snake ... oh, and Memnoch (another ball python--which I bought for Mom). Whew! And yes, at one time we 9 in the house.

161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi

171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad

181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read: This is something I am slowly working on at this time
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them: Sue me, I liked the Coke glasses.
183. …and gotten 86′ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch: As long as HTML can be considered an art!
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language

191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair: Constantly. Okay, maybe not so constantly anymore, but typically at least twice a year.
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

Posted by Coyote at 5:09 PM

September 25, 2004

"You want some coffee?"

I'm watching Kill Bill, Vol. 1 at the moment. Its the second in a string of movies that have filled this evening, the first being the new version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I rather liked the movie ... mind you, I obviously have not see it by that statement. Nor had I ever seen the first.

I've got a headache from reading all day, but I don't mind. I'm halfway through Drawing of the Three, so I'm rather pleased. The book is rather strange--but then, I am speaking of Stephen King here, aren't I?

I just ran out of steam for writing. I blame visiting the Beta Forums for WoW.

Posted by Coyote at 9:08 PM

September 23, 2004

Headaches and Bellyaches

Both Mike and I haven't been feeling well. All day yesterday, his belly was aching him and to be honest I thought it was stress. At the same time, my head began pounding, and by the time I had lain down to sleep, it was a full-tilt, bull-raging headache (I use 'headache' instead of 'migraine' because I've never seen a doctor about them).

Oh yeah, and I went to bed at ... well, I believe it was between 3 and 4. PM. Mike came to bed at 5. I woke up around 9, and went online for a few, much to my own personal discomfort. I had email that I hated reading, and the light from my monitor was making me ill. I went to the bathroom, and considered a shower, but couldn't think of standing for any length of time.

I came back upstairs and groped under the blankets, until I found that Mike was still dressed. Which then led to me tugging the blanket off of him--and waking him in the process--to get him out of his clothing. Prior to that, I turned off the air; and thankfully he never noticed, because I was chilled to the bone.

6:55 AM rolls around. That means we're due at work in 5 minutes. Obviously we're not going to make it, as it takes me at least 30 minutes to climb out of bed, no matter how startled by the time I am. Speaking of which, I ought to check the alarm right now. Apparently it was going off, to a degree; as when Mike checked it, the icon was blinking like it was going off. However, when he turned it off, it barely beeped; like someone had turned the volume down to 1 (which is actually impossible without going through the alarm settings). Its rather disturbing, and this isn't the first time its happened.

Still having my headache, I took a shower to help alleviate it some. It worked ... to a small degree. We ended up at work a hour late, which was due in large part to the traffic we hit on the way to the store. It took us almost five minutes to traverse the interchange between (2)95 and Route 1. Once we hit Rt. 1, we could see that the traffic was getting even worse, so we cut behind the DMV (ahem, sorry MVC) and then around the mall. It still took far too much time.

Samwise greeted us at the door, looking sad. Mike thought she forgot the 'Cube. I thought she was just happy to see us. LOL She didn't forget the 'Cube, but apparently she lost Soul Caliber II somewhere (which we discovered at lunchtime).

Work went fairly well. Robin was still sorting when we got in, so it was not terrible. The day went by fast too, which was nice (but then, we lost a hour in the morning and today was our 'short' day anyway, due to Mike bowling). I felt like crap all day long, weak and nauseous. And then I remembered that the last time I had eaten was during lunch the day prior--and it was solely a bagel with cream cheese (which is yet another recent discovery of mine, as I only started eating it after Melinda went out and bought bagels for everyone one morning).

After lunch I felt considerably better--especially since I wolfed down a 6" from Subway. Mmm, Subway. I so despise QuickChek. LOL

But yeah, I'm sitting on Mike's computer because its closer to the good source of light. The lamp behind my computer sucks. I had only logged onto AIM, but got completely distracted. Sigh! And then I wrote this. :D

So yeah, I'm jumping back into Dragons of a Fallen Sun; which has wounded me greatly. I nearly died inside when Camaron commited suicide. It was so ... unheroic. But yeah, I must return to Krynn, so hasta!

Posted by Coyote at 6:50 PM

September 21, 2004

Fuck Enhanced CDs

I'm officially boycotting "Enhanced" CDs.

Today we got two promos at work; the new Green Day and the new Prodigy. I was intending to buy Green Day at Best Buy when we stopped to pick up Star Wars, but one of the guys at work insisted that we take the Green Day CD (though he had already claimed it). Such is the grandness of no longer having a Music desk--we no longer had a separate overhead system for the music department and thus cannot play anything worthwhile.

Mike doesn't like Green Day, so I fully intended on listening to it on my PC. Also, the guy who gave up the GD CD, said that he had heard the Prodigy CD sucked. Apparently it was nothing like Fat of the Land (very true), and that only one song was good. Mike's impression from talking to him was that it was a good CD ... for me.

Once home, I settled down and slap in Green Day. An "enhanced" screen comes up. OOOooh, I can get a RING TONE FOR MY PHONE!! Fuck you, let me listen to my CD. Mind you, I strictly use WinAmp. Ever since I found a version that wouldn't crash with my MP3 collection (back in the day, like version 2 of WinAmp would crash anytime I put more than 100 MP3s in the playlist), I moved strictly to it (except on the Mac, where I use iTunes). Though I know WinAmp won't be able to load the tracks, I try anyway. And I sigh.

So I switched from GD to Prodigy. I glance at the backcover first, and fail to notice the 20x5 PIXEL icon for the Enhanced CD. -_- Obviously, it goes into the drive and loads a screen. To I flip the fuck out. I had to rip my new Lamb of God the other night to listen to it; and I'll be damned if I'm going to rip both GD and Prodigy when they could be censored (again, these are promos, which typically are censored; though you get a rare one that hasn't been--especially when they're coming from Warner). I just don't want to deal with ripping, cleaning the tags (just in case they aren't censored) and listening to it that way. And why should I, really?

So now I'm listening to Prodigy on my Merantz, which is inconvient in the sense that Mike is playing Fable. Mind you, I love my Merantz more than my computer (sorry, still unnamed PC), but then I was born and raised with that beast.

On the bright side, I will be able to tell if GD is censored within the first minute, as American Idiot opens the CD. Speaking of which Prodigy just ended. Hmm. Well, I got shit to do anyway, so I'm running.

Posted by Coyote at 5:19 PM

September 19, 2004

Collector's Edition

I'm so glad I pre-ordered the World of Warcraft Collector's Edition. This was posted on the official WoW page on the 17th:

I just hope that I don't have the same problems from when I ordered the Diablo 2 Collector's Edition. Stupid EB actually sold my copy out from under me, and we had to contact the Region Manager, who located a copy in Arizona and had it delievered to us. What a headache!

I love Blizzard. They make me happy. :D

Posted by Coyote at 4:55 PM

September 16, 2004

Broken Tooth

I broke a wisdom tooth tonight. At the moment, it doesn't hurt, but my stomach is starting to feel moderately upset, so I'm wondering if a nasty toothache is 'sneaking' up on me.

This utterly sucks. Mom did the same thing just the other week too (last month I think?). Broke a tooth and it didn't hurt, until she went to the dentist and they started working on it. The worst part of it, that its sharp and my tongue keeps rubbing against it.

I so hope I don't wake up in pain tomorrow.

Posted by Coyote at 11:20 PM

September 15, 2004

So Very Young

I bought the title Assassin because I thought it was hot.

Like many people on the GAMEFAQS message boards, I discovered that I was rushing through the game. Amdittedly, I'm only 22 in-game, and have only played for roughly 5 hours, but I rushed in aging him those first 10 (or so) years. I didn't spend nearly enough time playing around in the guild as a child. I haven't personally developed the skills to assist me later in the game--mostly getting accustomed to the buttons and the bow. However, as Sam likes pointing out, the standard XBox controller is way too big (I'm thinking this is like an original controller too, because the manual shows the smaller one (with the black/white buttons on the bottom). It makes my hands ache. I try to hold it like Mike holds the PS2 controller during fighting games, but then I cannot access the right trigger, which is needed for magic attacks. Sigh! I just cannot win with my small hands! LOL

Mike said he was going to get the guide, but I don't know if he forgot, or meant at a later date. I did finally get up and started reading the message boards, trying to find information on digging up the pirate's treasure. I didn't realize that a digging icon would appear, so I'm running around trying to dig in various places, and finally looked it up. Then started running around again, waiting for the icon to appear. I finally realized ... I was on the wrong side of the pier. Oi.

Blasted pier.

Posted by Coyote at 8:56 PM

Slice the Skin

So I sliced open my left forefinger today. I was up at reg, opening up the boxes containing our newest snazzy toy to sell at work ... lightsabers. MUAH! Anyway, so I was using a boxcutter to cut through the tape on the shipping packaging and slipped. Little did I know that this boxcutter in particular was (literally) razorsharp. Usually they're dull and nasty. Ha. I wasn't so lucky.

I didn't think it was so bad at first, but after a minute blood started bubbling up. Wonderful. Mind you, I was on the last one. And I'm sick, so sticking my finger in my mouth while finishing up was completely out of the question--as I discovered after attempting to do so, and nearly making myself ill. Yes, I'm a poor excuse for a vampire (by the way, have I told you to fuck off today? ::Grin!::). I go and bandage up my finger, super tight so that its giving a good amount of compression to the wound and finish putting up the 'sabers.

Aside from that, work was butterflies and roses. Well, as close to butterflies and roses as can be. We had a conference call today, during which I thought that nearly everyone was going to bust a gasket trying to hold back laughter (let me assure you ... you had to be there).

Anywho, scooting for now. I seriously have to get some writing done, and I think its best if I sat on the bed with the laptop.

Posted by Coyote at 8:43 PM

New Domains

Last night I bought three more domains (for rather cheap too, thanks to a friend who works at a registrar). There's nothing in place at this time, so I won't announce what they are; but all my domains (minus one) are getting a new facelift within the next month.

This will help move everything into more appropriate locations; plus one of them is for Mike and I would really like to see what he does with it (I bought his domain for the third time now; LOL).

Now, if I could only get back to writing. Maybe I'll go do that now?

Wait, what the Hell am I thinking? I have Fable to play! BYE!

Edit: I just figured it out. I paid 7.20$ a year for my new domains; that's 1/4 what I normally was paying through Register.com (which I was a very loyal user of, until this one time when I was like 'What the Hell? Let's see what kind of discount he's giving me'. Wow.

Posted by Coyote at 5:31 PM

September 12, 2004

Construction

As if you couldn't tell, haloandhorns.com is currently under construction. I just installed the newest version of Movable Type and am currently working on getting the PHP/dynamic pages up and running before I slap in all my old entries.

With any luck, this will be done by the end of the day.

Posted by Coyote at 2:59 PM